How Do You Know to Smile?
by Earthbender 2006
Summary: Toph's used to being bomarded with stupid questions, but one from her student ends up teaching her something. TophAang friendship


How Do You Know to Smile?

When first seeing Toph, Aang couldn't help but be curious about her. First and foremost because he had already seen her... in a vision. But the answer to that became clear, she was the earthbending teach he desperately needed. Still... After that revelation, when getting to know her, he had still more questions. He found that Toph would often brush him off and get irritated. She wanted to keep him at a distance, emotionally. But Aang didn't take it personally, Toph was like that with everyone. So, whenever he thought of a question, when not in the former context of being a student to his teacher, he'd ask her.

"Hey, Toph?" Aang began.

"Huh?" Toph turned to him lazily.

"How do you know to smile?"

"Don't ask me," Toph said.

She had misunderstood the question, because sadly, Toph never really understood the concept of a smile. Of course she'd heard the word many times before. Both of her parents would often order to her, "Smile, Toph!" or say sweetly "I wish you would smile more," in random circumstances. Then Toph would get irritated, and her parents would also, sighing unhappily and not saying anymore.

"Come on Toph, tell me! Did someone teach you?"

"Nuh uh. What do you mean by 'smile,' anyway?"

"You don't know? Really?" Aang inquired.

Toph was now angry. "Who cares! It sounds stupid, anyway!"

"It's not. Everyone smiles. Almost everyone," Aang paused to think. He couldn't think of anyone he'd met who didn't smile at least a little. "Well, everyone might, just not all the time."

"Everyone but me," Toph said.

"You do, you do! How can I explain it? Oh, I know! Your mouth goes like this!" Aang said. With that he took the corners of Toph's mouth, stretched them out wide, and turned them upward. A second late he found himself on a small plateau quite some ways above the ground.

"No touching!" Toph said. "And I do NOT do that. Is that what you sighted people learn to do? Definitely very stupid. Aren't you worried about bugs in your teeth?"

"Well... Ah... Never mind," Aang choked.

"Sure. And this is the perfect time to start your next earthbending lesson."

"Oh, yes!" Aang said happily. "What are we going to do this time, Sifu Toph?"

"Well, first get yourself down from there. Oh yeah, none of that silly airbender dancing. You'll get down with your earthbending talents!"

"Yes, Sifu Toph," Aang sighed as he watched Toph take back her place lounging in the shade.

Aang looked down. How could he bend something while still standing on it? Maybe he could just float up a little.. "AH!" Toph shouted. "I know you heard me the first time!"

"Yes, Sifu Toph," Aang said. He studied the rock. He tried to feel the vibrations of the earth. Toph had brought this up with earthbending, and it should be even more easily brought back down into place. If he wasn't standing on it, that is. What was the point, Aang wondered. It wasn't like he was ever going to lose his airbending powers.

That's it! Toph wanted him to stop relying so much on airbending, and stop being so afraid of the earth. Well, he'd try his best. Aang concentrated, and slowly brought the earth down. At the end it was a little too quickly, because the earth went faster than him, and then he fell.

Toph let out a laugh. She now stood up, walking over to him. "You're getting better," she complimented him.

Aang looked up from the dust and saw Toph's face. "Hey! You're smiling! That's what a smile is, Toph!"

"Huh?" Toph said. Then she realized her current expression, the location of the facial muscles.. Of course! She had done this expression, many time, for many reasons, the main one being a feeling of happiness. And her parents, they pushed her to smile because they wanted to think she was happy. She thought of Aang's exaggerated version of this gesture and laughed again, still with a smile on her face.

"I guess it was a pretty dumb question. How do you know to smile, it would be like asking how do you know to laugh? It's just a human thing."

"Yup. But you're no stranger to stupid questions," Toph said. "But thanks for the lesson. Now let's get to your's."


End file.
